Electrical engineering graduate student wins prestigious fellowship

Jonathan H. Dang, a UH Mānoa electrical engineering graduate student, has been named the 2014-15 recipient of the IEEE Life Members Graduate Study Fellowship in Electrical Engineering. Established in 2000, this prestigious award is given annually to one first-year, full-time graduate student in electrical engineering worldwide. The award carries a stipend of $10,000 per year, and is renewable for a second year.

Currently a first-year graduate student in UH Mānoa’s MS electrical engineering program, Dang’s research involves the development of liquid-metal circuits and components. Structures based on liquid metal have the potential to be a game changer, extending the realm of current 3D printing technology (configurable, but not re-configurable) to shape-shifting 3D structures reminiscent of the futuristic cyborg in Terminator 2. Dang’s research is a stepping stone in that direction, as it proposes moving metal at will in 2D.

“Jon has been a tremendous asset to our research group,” said Aaron Ohta, UH Mānoa associate professor of electrical engineering and principal investigator of the liquid-metal research grant funded by the National Science Foundation. “We look forward to him making significant contributions in this emerging field of research.”

As a UH Mānoa undergraduate, Dang was a UH Regents Scholar and served as president of the UH Mānoa Chapter of the IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu Electrical Engineering Honor Society, which recently won an outstanding chapter award for activities carried out during his presidency. In view of his accomplishments, the Hawaiʻi Council of Engineering Societies recognized Dang as its 2013 Student Engineer of the Year, having selected him from the pool of all 2012-13 graduating seniors in all engineering disciplines in Hawaiʻi.

“We've been very proud of Jon’s achievements as an undergraduate, and are even prouder now that his potential as a graduate student is being recognized at an international level,” said Wayne Shiroma, department chair of electrical engineering and Dang’s co-advisor with Ohta. “He’s also been a great role model in giving back to Hawaiʻi’s engineering community.”

Dang is the youngest member of the UH Engineering Alumni Association’s “Holmescoming” Committee, which plans an annual homecoming event at Holmes Hall that draws over 700 alumni. Last fall, he was in charge of coordinating the efforts of over 200 student volunteers for the event.